Corey Dinkins’ hot shooting leads Glen Cove

For the majority of the game, it seemed there was nothing Glen Cove’s Corey Dinkins couldn’t do.

When North Shore forced the basketball out of his hands, Dinkins found an open shooter. When they switched on a screen, he went to the basket. If you gave him an ounce of daylight, he stepped back and dropped a dagger from beyond the arc.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Hits five three-pointers and scores 24 points

Junior center Chris Blissett adds 10 points, 15 rebounds

For the majority of the game, it seemed there was nothing Glen Cove’s Corey Dinkins couldn’t do.

When North Shore forced the basketball out of his hands, Dinkins found an open shooter. When they switched on a screen, he went to the basket. If you gave him an ounce of daylight, he stepped back and dropped a dagger from beyond the arc.

“Right after I hit my first three,” said Dinkins who made five three-pointers, “I felt like I was going to play a good game.”

Dinkins led Glen Cove with 24 points and added four assists as the Big Red defeated North Shore, 65-46, in Friday night’s Nassau A-III boys basketball game at North Shore in front of a raucous crowd. The intensity was evident from the start — not only because the schools are separated by less than four miles, but because North Shore ended Glen Cove’s season with a 70-61 upset in last year’s playoffs.

Said Dinkins, “We’ve been waiting for this since the day we lost that playoff game last year.”

Junior center Chris Blissett, who had 10 points and 15 rebounds, added “this is our rival and the intensity for this game is really high. We wanted to beat them. It’s all we were focused on.”

And that focus was evident when Glen Cove outscored the Vikings 23-14 in the second quarter to take a 36-28 lead into halftime — led by Dinkins’ 19 points. Dinkins had two three-pointers in the second quarter and a three-point play as he often held his follow through with a big smile on his face and tongue sticking out in pride.

“When he hits those shots and we feed off the crowd’s energy,” coach Peter Falen said, “it makes it easier for the rest of the kids.”

Glen Cove (2-0) also received contributions from senior Michael Payton’s three points and five assists, senior Khalil Zachary’s 10 points and eight rebounds and junior Nero Romero’s 11 points. Glen Cove opened its lead even more after a 17-7 third quarter to take a commanding 53-35 advantage. Dinkins ended the third quarter with another deep three-pointer, which he couldn’t help but smile to himself about. “It was playoff atmosphere,” Falen said.

Tyler Rieger and Brett Bennett had 17 and 11 points, respectively, for North Shore (0-2). Rieger — a returning all-county selection — got to the basket as he went 10 of 10 from the foul line, but the Big Red’s defense held him to less than 20 points for just the second time this season.

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